Hazel Grouse

     The Hazel Grouse, also known as the Hazel Hen, is one of the smallest birds in the Grouse family. It’s a sedentary species, which breeds across northern Eurasia as far east as Hokkaido, and as far west as central and eastern Europe.

     Hazel grouse have rounded bodies, small heads and thin black beaks. The plumage is finely patterned, but it essentially has grey upperparts, brown wings and chestnut flecked white underparts. The male has a short erectile crest and a white-bordered black throat. While the female has a shorter crest and lacks the black color on her throat.

     Hazel grouse usually mate in April or May around the time of snow-melt. They are ground-nesting birds, and only females are responsible for the incubation and rearing the chicks. The female Hazel grouse lays 9 – 10 eggs and incubates them for 25 – 27 days. The broods stay together with the female usually until autumn. There are almost 12 subspecies for the Hazel grouse which inhabit dense forest habitats across Europe and Asia.

 

Place of originEurasia
UseGame hunting and preservation
Weight

Male: 305 – 430 g

female: 307 – 422 g

Egg colorPale buff with reddish-brown dots and markings

 

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The male Hazel Grouse by Tatiana Bulyonkova
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The male Hazel Grouse by Honza Sterba
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The female Hazel Grouse by Sergey Yeliseev